Earlier this month we delivered Building Our Future—Brasfield & Gorrie at 60 to almost 3,700 individual employees at one time. This was a new venture for us as we normally ship our client books directly to their corporate offices or to our warehouse for future distribution.
Our printer, Sheridan (a CJK Group Company), had labels made at one of their other locations. The books were individually boxed as they came off the bindery and then labeled and taken directly to the post office to be mailed.
Our journey with B&G was an exciting one.
When Brasfield & Gorrie celebrated its fiftieth anniversary in June 2014, the company that Miller Gorrie started in 1964 in Birmingham, Alabama, had grown from less than $1 million to more than $2 billion in annual revenues. The company’s geographic footprint had grown as well, with new offices opening in Atlanta, Georgia (1984); Orlando, Florida 1984); Raleigh, North Carolina (1998); Nashville, Tennessee (1998); Jacksonville, Florida (2006); Dallas, Texas (2010); Charlotte, North Carolina (2010); Columbus, Georgia (2012); Huntsville, Alabama (2012); and Greenville, South Carolina (2013). But as the company reflected on its successful past, there was a sense that the next chapter would begin a continuum of the story that would see annual revenues march toward $6 billion as its recognized expertise in new market sectors kept expanding.
Four of the five founders responsible for Brasfield & Gorrie’s early success—Imogene Powell, Jim Anthony, John Darnall, and James Harbison—were no longer actively involved with the company, and Miller was serving in an increasingly advisory capacity. The “second generation” of leaders who led the company to even greater success was nearing retirement. It was a pivotal moment in the company’s history as Brasfield & Gorrie faced a transition to a new generation of leaders even as new technology and techniques began to fundamentally change the construction industry itself.
Building Our Future—Brasfield & Gorrie at 60 tells the story of how this company successfully navigated those changes by remaining focused on its North Star—its people and its principles. It is what enabled the Birmingham outfit to meet massive challenges that would have been calamitous crises to other companies. Thanks to decades of building a deep bench of talent, Brasfield & Gorrie steadfastly worked through huge challenges such as a contentious project with an ill-advised client that threatened to bankrupt the company, the near-tragic accident that left a Brasfield & Gorrie crane and the company’s reputation hanging in the balance, and also an unprecedented worldwide pandemic that shut down the entire world temporarily and hundreds of businesses permanently.
Finally, Building Our Future—Brasfield & Gorrie at 60 is also the story of the unselfish actions the Gorrie family has taken to ensure its extended family—the men and women of Brasfield & Gorrie—will continue the company’s mission in perpetuity, a legacy of building exceptional people, trusting relationships, great projects, and strong communities.